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For the first time in five years, Steve Sarkisian had a taste of his former gig. Filling in for an ailing Nick Saban during this year’s Iron Bowl, the Alabama offensive coordinator led a team out of the tunnel, just as he did when he was a head coach for Washington and Southern California years ago.
Sarkisian coached Alabama to a 42-13 victory over Auburn. However, his time in the sun was short-lived as Saban was cleared to coach the following week against LSU. That was perfectly fine for the offensive coordinator who took some time Tuesday to reflect on what he called “a unique scenario.”
“I just wanted to do the best job I could do for the university, for our football program, for Coach Saban,” Sarkisian said during a teleconference with reporters. “And ultimately it was about the players. The guys played their tails off in that game. They played really well in all three phases, and I just kind of did my part the best I could. And again, I didn't want to lose sight of what my initial role always is, and that's to have our offense ready to play and to call plays.
“So the end result it was an awesome opportunity. It was great to kind of be back in that role for a few hours. But the reality of it is it was about the players and their performance. And I was proud of the way they played in the game.”
At the moment, Sarkisian doesn’t appear interested in pursuing a head coaching career in the immediate future. The coordinator reportedly turned down an opportunity to interview for the head coaching job at Auburn earlier this month. That came after he passed on the opportunity to become the next head coach at Colorado last offseason.
Sarkisian wasn’t asked directly about his future plans on Tuesday but did share some insight on his thought process as well as his relationship with Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
“A year ago I had a couple opportunities to become a head coach, and I decided to come back because I felt like my work here wasn't done,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like I owed it to him. I made a commitment to him to be part of this program.
"And I just try to do the best I can do. I try to be the best version of Steve Sarkisian every day that I show up and be a sponge, all of the aspects of the program that he has his fingerprint on, which is literally everything.”
In his two years as Alabama’s offensive coordinator, Sarkisian has done just that. Earlier this week, he earned the Broyles Award given to the nation’s top assistant. That came after putting together an Alabama offense that is currently averaging 49.7 points and 543.9 yards per game — an attack that features three of the top five Heisman vote-getters, including The Associated Press Player of the Year, DeVonta Smith.
“He's just done an outstanding job,” Saban said of Sarkisian on Monday. “He's contributed as much as anybody that we've ever had here in terms of his knowledge and experience and how he manages the offensive side of the ball.”
While Sarkisian seems shy to discuss his future endeavors, no one else is. The 46-year-old is one of the hottest names in coaching and is one of the first names mentioned when discussing future head coaching openings.
Sarkisian is currently tied with Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele as the nation’s highest-paid assistant, earning a salary of $2.5 million per season. That number will likely rise as reports state that the Alabama assistant is in line for another heavy raise this coming offseason. How long that keeps him in Tuscaloosa, Ala. is yet to be seen.
Until then, Sarkisian seems perfectly content with his supplementary role running Alabama’s offense while continuing to hone his craft under Saban.
“I think probably the biggest thing I've learned from him is his ability to balance all aspects of the program, whether it's on the field, off the field, recruiting, all that goes into being a head coach at a place like Alabama,” Sarkisian said. “Those are all the things that I've tried to take in from him because his balance of all of that, I think, is what is pretty incredible.”
